became expendable. He was traded along with Del Unser and Mac Scarce from the Phillies to the New York Mets for Tug McGraw, Don Hahn, and Dave Schneck at the Winter Meetings on December 3, 1974. In his first season as a Met, Stearns spent as the backup catcher behind veteran Jerry Grote, the Mets' regular catcher since . As Grote's backup, Stearns batted only .189 in 1975. In , Stearns hit poorly in limited time and was soon replaced in backup duties by lefty hitter Ron Hodges. Stearns was sent back to the Tidewater Tides and hit very well while Hodges struggled in the majors. He was brought back to the majors for September and continued his hot hitting. With 18 hits in his first 13 games back, including seven hits in two games, Stearns not only ousted Hodges, but even took over the starting duties from Grote for most of the rest of the season. Stearns was the starting catcher for most of 1977, with Grote and Hodges relegated to backup and pinch-hitting duty. In June, Stearns posted two games with four runs batted in, including the only grand slam of his career. On July 1, his average stood at .314, with a slugging average of .554. With his good mid-season statistics and the Mets firmly in last place in the National League East, Stearns was chosen as the team's sole representative to the All-Star Game, catching the bottom of the ninth inning. On August 31, 1977, the Mets traded Grote to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two players to be named later. Stearns had a .125 average in August and .167 average in September. His 25 doubles were most on the team and 12 home runs tied Steve Henderson and John Milner for the team lead. Despite a poor average and only two runs batted in during April, Stearns set career highs in home runs, runs batted in, runs, and total bases in 1978. He also led the team with a career high 25 stolen bases, and in the process broke the National League record for catchers, which had been held by Johnny Kling since . Stearns got into a bench clearing brawl in the fourth game of the 1979 season. With the Montreal Expos at Shea Stadium on April 11, Stearns and Expos catcher Gary Carter collided at home when Carter tried to score from first